Every year, since 1993, World Water Day is celebrated to raise awareness about the global crisis of access to water, and to take action to defend our rights. According to the UN, more than two
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CATAPA is een jonge vrijwilligersbeweging in België, die werkt rond sociale en ecologische rechtvaardigheid tussen en binnen samenlevingen.. Ons werk gaat over de globale grondstoffenproblematiek: we kaarten de lokale impact van industriële mijnbouw op leefmilieu
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What does saying ‘no’ mean to you? If a mining corporation decided to use your home for their new extractivist project - would you be able to stop them? And as well as saying no
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On Black Friday, the symbol of our consumer culture, we and  Nerdlab organised an action against 'planned obsolescence' on the Kouter in Ghent. By designing and producing smartphones and laptops in such a way that
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The Brussels Way The EU Raw Materials Week kicked off in Brussels this Monday, November 14. This summit, organised by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for the Internal Market, focuses on one fundamental question: how can
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We, the undersigned organisations, express our support and solidarity for the ongoing “Quito Sin Minería” campaign to hold a Consultar Popular (a popular referendum) on all forms of metallic mining in the Metropolitan District of
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Since the beginning of September, our team has two new members! Meet ESC volunteers Magdalena and Estefanía: Estefania I´m Estefanía from Spain. In the next 12 months I’m going to work in the communication and
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Collecting 200.000 signatures by October 2022, this is the goal of the ongoing campaign “Quito sin mineria”. The campaign was launched in March 2022 by a group of organizations, collectives and people from the towns
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Wars are both political and material. Hidden underneath Ukraine’s fertile land are vast amounts of resources that global powers desperately want. The risk of a resource grab sold to the public as “rebuilding Ukraine” is
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  CATAPA is a social and environmental movement that uses a participatory and integrated approach to work towards a world without mining of metals and minerals and its negative impact on people and the environment.
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What a fruitful first part of the (e)wasteful installation design trajectory!  With a visionary team of volunteers we brainstormed, reflected and shared our thoughts. We placed ourselves into the minds of good and bad designers,
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After Mechelen, last week the city of Ghent was the second city to sign our CTRL-ALT-DEL charter. By doing so, the city supports our campaign for stronger regulation on circular electronics. For this special occasion,
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Defending their lands and their bodies was never a choice, but a necessity. With hopes and dreams for a different reality they continue their fight against extractivism and patriarchal oppression. On the 8th of March,
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In our previous blog article you could find out why mining can never be made ‘green’ or done ‘responsibly’. That’s why we should drastically reduce our need for new raw materials. We cannot continue to
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From 30 May to 5 June, the Ghelamco Arena in Ghent will for once not be showing an advertisement by KAA Gent. However, it will be a slogan that fits in with CATAPA’s CTRL ALT
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The federal government, as part of the Federal Action Plan Circular Economy 2021-2024 will introduce a Repair Index in a few years. By means of a mandatory score or Repair Index that must be listed
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ESC Volunteer Vacancies 2022Campaigning & MovementCommunication & Social Media Campaigning CATAPA CATAPA is a movement which strives for a world in which the extraction of non-renewable resources is no longer necessary. The extraction of such
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The year 2021 finished already a while ago! Despite the pandemic, CATAPA did not stand still of course. Read all about it in the annual report! You can download it here. Only available in Dutch.
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Mechelen is the first city to sign our CTRL ALT DEL charter! On February 17, CATAPA Mechelen organised a debate about (de)colonisation. Alderwoman of Mechelen, Rina Rabau, also took part in the panel. As a
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En El Nombre Del Litio: Clean Energy, For Who? I'm the one who goes meandering through the hills Watching life grow With eyes of water that see the birth and death of time I am
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SPEAKERS TOUR 2022 OVERVIEW The Speakers Tour was a big success! Thank you all so much for making this happen! What a wonderful edition. This year, two environmental defenders, Mirtha and Rosas from Cajamarca, Perú, were
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Speaker’s Tour Student Event - Citizens Council: Extractivism and KULeuven We do not eat gold, we do not drink oil. (Rosas Duran Carrera, KULeuven Student Event) During this year's Speaker’s Tour CATAPA organised several events
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ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENDERS, INDIGENOUS REPRESENTATIVES OF COMMUNITIES AFFECTED BY MINING MEET WITH MEP’S REGARDING EU DUE DILIGENCE LEGISLATION Our Peruvian environmental defenders, alongside indigenous representatives from Russia and Guatemala, met with MEP’s on Thursday 4th March
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This week it's Volunteers' Week in Belgium, a time to think about and thank the work of all the volunteers who have been collaborating for years to make the CATAPA project possible. Thanks in a
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CATAPA’s next Speakers Tour is coming up! From the 3rd until the 13th of March we have two Peruvian guests visiting us in Belgium: Rosas Duran Carrera, a farmer and activist from the Valle de
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We are pleased to announce the launch of CATAPA’s new Study and Lobby Working Group. The Working Group will produce cutting edge research and lobby on the following themes;   Research Theme 1: Planned Obsolescence: Ctrl
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Monitoring of the Tin Mines in Bolivia Since autumn 2020, CATAPA vzw has been partnering up with Electronics Watch - an independent monitoring organisation with experts in human rights and global supply chains - and
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'Greenwashing' of the mining industry A warm nest, your own car and the latest smartphone; many of us are used to a life of luxury. However, continuing to meet these needs requires an energy transition.
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Take part in the free escaperoom Re-Connect! Always wanted to do an escaperoom, but never got around to it? Fond of your smartphone, but don't know what's inside? Then participate in the free escaperoom Re-Connect.
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Art and unity in Cajamarca “What if we sing?”, she asks as she pulled a small paper with some scribbles that formed lyrics out of her pocket. She is one of the Defensoras de la
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{{ vc_btn: title=Take+me+to+the+Ctrl+Alt+Delete+website%21&color=sky&size=lg&align=center&css_animation=bounceIn&button_block=true&link=url%3Ahttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.ctrlaltdelete.be%252F%7Ctarget%3A_blank }} Launch Ctrl Alt Del Campaign Reset the system & stop planned obsolescence! The earth is becoming exhausted. Floods, forest fires, melting glaciers, ...: we are increasingly confronted with natural disasters. The
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Become a Communication or Education Volunteer Would you like to be part of a volunteer team supporting the Communication or Education of some amazing social & environmental justice projects across Belgium and Latin America? Become a
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CATAPA’s new ESC Volunteers This past September we welcomed two new members to our office. They are part of the European Solidarity Corps, a programme funded by the European Commission that brings young people the
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Event: Movement Weekend October 1st - 3rd Registration Join us for our annual Movement Weekend that will take place from the 1st to the 3rd of October. It is an ideal event to learn more
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WEBINAR: The Right to Say No: Insights and Experiences of the Global Struggle against Mining 4th August, 2021 Last week The Thematic Social Forum on Mining and Extractive Economy explored the “Right to Say No”
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ESC Volunteer Vacancies 2021Changemaker for a Wellbeing EconomyEducation & MovementCommunication & Campaigns CATAPA CATAPA is a volunteer movement which strives for a world in which the extraction of non-renewable resources is no longer necessary. The
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The EU can't mine its way out of the climate crises Today CATAPA joins 180+ communities, organisation and academics to tell the EU to abandon its plans to expand dirty mining as part of EU
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The two Ghent pilot organisations of the ‘Fair ICT Flanders’ project, Ghent University and District09, both join Electronics Watch, an international NGO that strives for better working conditions in the production process of electronics.

NEWS: 15 Days of Protests, 40 People Killed, More Than 400 Disappeared: The Colombian Government Responds with Extractivism   After 15 Days of demonstrations and 40 homicides caused by police in Colombia, the government of
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Webinar: Virtual classes, but no Internet access: Education during a pandemic in Peru May 11th, Online Registration Imagine living in a rural community where there´s no Internet, no cable TV, close to no means of
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NEWS: What is happening in Colombia right now? #SOSCOLOMBIA 05.05.2021   In Colombia, since April 28, 2021, a National Strike has been taking place against tax policies. The government has decided to tax the basic
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NEWS: CATAPA Joins Europe's largest environmental network   After several years of fruitful collaboration, CATAPA has formalised it’s membership as an associate member of the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) - Europe’s largest network of environmental
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ONLINE SPRING SCHOOL: Escuela de Primavera: Catapa's spring school on extractivism in Colombia April 21st - May 29th, Online Registration Learn about the struggle against extractivism in Colombia through our 'Escuela de Primavera'. This year
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The El Tingo case Water pollution caused by toxic mining waste has radically transformed the regional ecosystem, poisoning the land. Author - Giacomo Perna During one of his visits to Macondo, Melquiades and his gypsies
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WEBINAR & BOOK LECTURE: Watch: The Case for Degrowth 27th February, 2020 Join expert and author Federico Demaria as he presents his new book 'The case for Degrowth'. On Friday 19th February CATAPA in partnership
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'System change' This year CATAPA will again participate in Belmundo, the annual social and environmental justice festival in Gent that puts international solidarity in the foreground. Throughout March, a lot of organizations from Gent will
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Guardians of water In 1957 the American newspaper The New Yorker published a poem by British poet W. H. Auden, the end of which recited: "Thousands have survived without love. Not one without water”. Indeed,
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Climate justice, supply chains and mining-industry’s destruction of communities and eco-systems in Chile, and around the world. We are witnessing a revamped drive for a green economy. The transition towards an energy system powered by
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10 Ways CATAPA Took on the Mining Industry in 2020   Its been a challenging year across the world with the Covid-19 pandemic not least for communities facing down mining projects trying to exploit the
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NEWS: Worker Driven Monitoring of the Mining Sector   CATAPA is entering a new partnership which will trial worker-driven monitoring of mining operations across three continents.  A new pilot project has been launched, in which
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Executive Summary: Linking the Bolivian Minerals to the European Industry   The Executive Summary is also available in Spanish and Dutch.   Introduction   Although indium might be a rare metal, it is not rare
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Environmental Defenders are Being Assassinated in Colombia   We are activists of the organisation Catapa, which supports communities in Latin America in their resistance against extractivism. Our most important mission in Belgium is to raise
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WEBINAR: Thesis 4 Bolivia 27th October, 7-9pm, Online Registration   We invite you to an evening of presentations to hear from researchers and graduated students on the results of their thesis conducted in Bolivia. Learn
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Make ICT Fair Webinar Series 2020: Sustainable ICT Future? In these dynamic and challenging times, when digitalisation is an urgent and quickly progressing phenomenon, the discussion about the sustainability of our electronic devices is timelier
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Image: CRM deposits EU-27 (2020). Source: European Commission’s M(2020) 474 final. ARTICLE: Re-published from: Vázquez Ruiz, A. 2020. “Op-Ed: The End of Naïve Europe, The Rise of Green Imperialism.” Commodity Frontiers 1: 56-59. doi:10.18174/cf.2020a17975. The
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WEBINAR & TRAINING: Deep Sea Mining: How Belgium is sinking to the bottom 17th October, 2pm, Online Registration Our deep blue oceans are home to an unprecedented wealth of biodiversity, most of which is still
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Join The Communication Working Group 30th September   Are you skilled in social media, content creation, graphic design etc? Would you like to be part of a volunteer team supporting and leading on the communications of
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We can’t mine our way out of the climate crisis, European Commission told 30th September 234 civil society organisations, communities and academics call on EC to align critical raw materials sourcing plans with the interests
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CHANGE MAKER PROGRAMME: Changemakers for Degrowth - Re-thinking (Metal) Consumption 6th October, 24th October & 21st November Registration Introduction Organized by CATAPA, this year the series of events will be dedicated to the topic of
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WEBINAR SERIES: Towards a Responsible Supply Chain for ElectronicsFrom Mining to Manufacturing 28th September - 2nd October 2020 Registration The webinars are organised by the Make ICT Fair project, in collaboration with Fair ICT Flanders
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Tailings dam collapsed in the province of Azuay, Ecuador The recent collapse of a tailings dam in Ecuador confirms once again the potential damage the country could suffer if the government continues to promote metal
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Fair ICT Awards 2020 Vlaamse bedrijven, non-profitorganisaties, instellingen hoger onderwijs en lokale besturen die inzetten op het duurzaam aankopen of beheren van ICT-apparatuur kunnen zich tot 14 november 2020 inschrijven voor de Fair ICT Awards. 
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Mines & Territory – May 2020 edition News comes and goes. With social media as the main outlet for civil society organizations in Colombia to get their stories heard, a story can be famous for
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Nieuw onderzoek toont limieten van ontginning voor de energietransitie De Europese Commissie kondigde aan dat de Europese Green Deal het kompas zal zijn voor het economisch herstel na de COVID19-crisis, een belangrijke voorwaarde voor het
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Author: Maxime Degroote   Ghost town Choropampa: Twenty Years after the Mercury Spill   On June 2, 2000, a truck with a load from the Yanacocha mine lost about 150 kilograms of mercury in the
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Jaarverslag 2019 Benieuwd naar wat we vorig jaar allemaal uitgespookt hebben? Hier kan je CATAPA's jaarverslag van 2019 downloaden, met onder andere een overzicht van onze activiteiten en projecten in Vlaanderen en Latijns-Amerika en onze
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Ecuador: Extractivism in the midst of an Economic and Sanitary crisis (COVID-19) Author: Kim Baert Ecuador is one of the most affected countries in Latin America by COVID-19, after Brazil and Peru. At the time
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Towards a fairer ICT supply chain Research and fact-finding mission in Oruro, Bolivia in the context of the project ‘Make ICT Fair’ Executive report also available in Spanish, Dutch and French. Executive report  With literature
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Mines & Territory - April 2020 edition News comes and goes. With social media as the main outlet for civil society organizations in Colombia to get their stories heard, a story can be famous for
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Open Min(e)d International Speakers Tour 2020 - An overview The extraction of life, gold and oil We at CATAPA look back with pride at the 11th edition of the Open Min(e)d International Speakers Tour: the
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ESC Volunteer Vacancies 2020Changemaker Fair ICTCampaigning and EducationCommunication CATAPA CATAPA is a volunteer movement which strives for a world in which the extraction of non-renewable resources is no longer necessary. The extraction of such materials
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Covid-19 in the Peruvian Amazon: Challenges for the most vulnerable communities of Loreto Author: Mirna Fernández   If there is one thing which the Covid-19-outbreak has brought to the surface in a very clear way,
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Caning, arrests and social issues Ten days of quarantine in Peru Author: MAXIME DEGROOTE DISCLAIMER: This article was written on March 25, after the first ten days of quarantine in Peru. By now, after six
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The ICT Supply Chain from the Doculatino Film Festival 2019: What is inside your smartphone, where does it come from and where does it end up? Our Catapista Hernán Manrique wrote the following interesting and
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Celebrate Earth Day with Chaikuni Institute CATAPA wants to dedicate this Earth Day to our partner organization in Peru, the Chaikuni Institute. They are facing a critical financial situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We
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Standaarden, certificaten, en monitoringsystemen in de ICT-sector: op weg naar een duurzame aankooppraktijk? De ICT-sector kampt met heel wat uitdagingen op het vlak van duurzaamheid. Het produceren van ICT-producten zoals smartphones, computers en laptops heeft een
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Radio show "Hijack hour" about Bar Circular event - Black Friday impact consciousness Last November 29th CATAPA co-organized Bar Circular, an event meant to raise awareness on the impact of Black Friday. The consumption levels
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Mines & Territory - Year Overview 2019 - Special Issue Collection, translation and edition by Karlijn Van den Broeck, Jonas Adriaensens and Daniela Marques. You can download the Special Issue of Mines & Territory, Year
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Open MinEd 2020: The extraction of life, gold and oil We again reached a record. The amount of material consumed by humanity has passed 100 billion tonnes every year*. At the same time the percentage
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How great was the Movement Weekend 2019? From the 13th till 15th of December there was the annual Movement Weekend which took place in Lokeren. We gathered with a lot of Catapistas to learn, brainstorm,
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Flemish buyers go for Fair and Circular ICT On 9 December, the 'Conference on Fair & Circular ICT' took place in Ghent, organised by Fair ICT Flanders.  It was the first conference in Flanders to
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Lithium exploitation is drying out the world's driest desert  *This article is a summary of a longer investigation project from Danwatch, published in collaboration with CATAPA and SETEM. More information at the end of the
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Art as a Form of Protest - Peru As all neighboring countries of Peru are stuck or have been stuck in violent protests recently, Peru seems calm. Cajamarca, known for its huge protests to stop
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Buy Nothing Day - VS - Black Friday Buy Nothing Day is an international day of protest against consumerism that takes place on November 29th, 2019. It is celebrated on the same day as “Black
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On the 2nd of October, CATAPA had the honor of receiving Armenian activist Anna Shahnazaryan, from the Armenian Environmental Front. She is part of the Save Amulsar campaign, which for years has been opposing the
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At the Watt Factory on Friday 27th, 2019   Our Catapa team is proud to have been able to meet with social entrepreneurs from both Belgium and South-Africa at the Watt Factory’s Climate Meet-up organized
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Press Release: Make ICT Fair Breakfast at the European Parliament Raising Awareness of Human Rights Violations in ICT Supply Chains On the morning of the 1st October, the Make ICT Fair consortium held a breakfast
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Mining in Azuay: a David vs. Goliath story Azuay, a province in the south of Ecuador with Cuenca as its historic and cultural provincial capital, has rapidly developed into an emblematic region in the fight
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DocuLatino Film Festival – Tracing the ICT supply chain For the 11th year in a row Catapa organises the Doculatino Filmfestival in Ghent, Antwerp, Brussels and Leuven. Within the Make ICT fair European campaign, whose
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Dear Catapistas, After the summer break we are back on track, feeling more enthusiast than ever and looking forward to seeing what the upcoming year will bring. And this time it comes with some breaking
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The Summer Camp Weekend 2019 In the first weekend of September, we gathered together for our traditional Summer Camp weekend with a lot of our Catapistas to discuss about our organization and to spend a
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War on Want and London Mining Network, supported by the Yes to Life, No to Mining network, have launched a new report: Post-Extractivist_Transition A just(ice) transition is a post-extractive transition Centering the extractive frontier in
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iPhone 11 Illegally Produced in China Apple allows supplier factory Foxconn to violate labor laws "Over the years, China Labor Watch has monitored the working conditions at several Foxconn facilities and investigations have revealed a
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ESC Volunteer VacanciesChangemaker Fair ICTCampaigning and EducationCommunication CATAPA CATAPA is a volunteer movement which strives for a world in which the extraction of non-renewable resources is no longer necessary. The extraction of such materials always
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MONTHLY ONLINE REVIEW ON EXTRACTIVIST ISSUES IN COLOMBIA ISSUE 05 May 2019 Collection, summary and edition by Sam Packet, Karlijn Van den Broeck and Laura García Download Mines & Territory, May 2019 here. MINES &
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From the polls to the tribunal: The farmers of Cajamarca suing mining multinational Angolgold Ashanti Cajamarca, Colombia Karlijn Van den Broek, 5 June 2019 The farming community that voted out multinational Anglogold Ashanti of their
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Official communiqué to the public opinion legal action defending the 'consulta popular' of Cajamarca Today, Wednesday the 5th of June 2019, the corporation ‘Cajamarca Despensa Hídrica y Agrícola’, promotor of the Consulta Popular in Cajamarca,
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MONTHLY ONLINE REVIEW ON EXTRACTIVIST ISSUES IN COLOMBIA ISSUE 04 April 2019 Collection, summary and edition by Sam Packet, Karlijn Van den Broeck and Laura García Download Mines & Territory, April 2019 here. MINES &
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MONTHLY ONLINE REVIEW ON EXTRACTIVIST ISSUES IN COLOMBIA ISSUE 03 March 2019 Collection, summary and edition by Mattijs Vanden Bussche, Sam Packet and Karlijn Van den Broeck Download Mines & Territory, March 2019 here. MINES
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Are you also running the 20 km of Brussels for CATAPA on May 19th? Sign up and become one of the CATAPA runners! On May 19th, CATAPA runs the 20 km of Brussels to continue
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MONTHLY ONLINE REVIEW ON EXTRACTIVIST ISSUES IN COLOMBIA ISSUE 02 February 2019 Collection, summary and edition by Sam Packet and Karlijn Van den Broeck Download Mines & Territory, February 2019 here. MINES & TERRITORYFebruary 2019
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The role BMW may play in creating a world-class environmental disaster in Ecuador Carlos Zorrilla, 27 March 2019 There is a rush these days to gain access to copper deposit and other key minerals driven
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This project is run by the non-profit organization CATAPA vzw, the umbrella organization of Flemish environmental groups Bond Beter Leefmilieu (Society for a Better Environment) and Ondernemers voor Ondernemers (Entrepreneurs for Entrepreneurs) and aims at improving the
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The irresponsibility of Vale has led to a second big mining disaster in Brazil Youssef Bouarada, 27 February 2019 On January 25th, a catastrophic failure of a tailings dam in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais, in Brazil
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No Alto Maipo: Chile’s continued struggle against the mining industry for the right to water. Emily Humphreys, 13 February 2019 Chile is recognised as the poster-child of neoliberalism, with a strong mandate of privatisation on
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Neo-extractivism and repression of social protest in Bolivia Bolivian Altiplano We are looking out over a gigantic dry salt pan. Boats are lying upside-down on the cracks in the salty soil. In the surrounding villages,
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The struggle of indigenous students against large-scale mining industries in the Philippines - the case of ALCADEV Nóra Katona, 18 February 2019 On Mindanao, the biggest southern island of the Philippines, there is a school
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Monthly online review on extractivist issues in Colombia Collection, summary and edition by Sam Packet and Karlijn Van den Broeck Download Mines & Territory, January 2019 here. We present you "Mines & Territory", our montly online review on
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Living under riskCopper, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Human Rights in Chile Catapa published this report together with War on Want. You can read it here. CHILE, COPPER & ICT Chile is currently the
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Mirtha Vasquez visits CATAPA to discuss the issues that 'defensoras' face 17 January 2018 This week Mirtha Vasquez visited CATAPA. She is the director of GRUFIDES and the lawyer for famous environmentalist Maxima Acuña and
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The European Parliament approves resolution on “Women, Gender Equality and Climate Justice” Mirtha Vásquez (GRUFIDES), Laura Lucio (ESF) 25 January 2018 The European Union (EU) has been concerned with the issues regarding the safety of
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Concerns aimed at the EU after pardon of former Peru president Fujimori Brussels, Monday, 29th January, 2018 The "Plataforma Europa Peru" (PEP), the "EU-LAT Network" (ex CIFCA and Grupo Sur) and CIDSE would like to express
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Acción Ecológica resists the mining project along with the locals 28th February 2018 Gloria Chicaiza Aguilar is the head of "Acción Ecológica", an Ecuadorian NGO that strives for social and ecological justice according to the
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Hellas Gold pleas for reduction in letter of guarantee Inge van der Spek, 23rd April 2018 On the 26th of January, a representative of Hellas Gold – daughter company of the Canadian mining company Eldorado
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The month of march has passed, and this means so has the Open Min(e)d week. Previously known as the ‘Academic Week’ by Catapistas, and lasting from the 4th of March until the 9th of March
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Mirtha Vasquez visits CATAPA This week Mirtha Vasquez visited CATAPA. She is the director of GRUFIDES and the lawyer for famous environmentalist Maxima Acuña and is based in Peru. The purpose of her visit was
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